1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an airbag and an airbag apparatus for restraining a driver or a passenger inside a vehicle when, for example, it collides with another object. More particularly, the invention relates to an airbag which has a left-half airbag and a right-half airbag and comes to have a recess that is continuous from the surface, opposed to the driver or passenger, of the airbag to its top surface when inflated, as well as an airbag apparatus which is equipped with such an airbag. The invention also relates to a vehicle which is equipped with such an airbag apparatus.
2. Related Art
JP-A-2006-103654 discloses an airbag for restraining a driver or a passenger inside a vehicle when, for example, the vehicle collides with another object in which a vertical recess is formed in its surface that is opposed to the driver or passenger when inflated. Paragraph 0039 of this document has a passage to the effect that when the vehicle collides with a front object, the shoulders of the driver or passenger are restrained by shoulder restraining portions, located on both sides of the recess, of the airbag as inflated and his or her head is restrained by the airbag as it goes into the recess.
In the airbag disclosed in JP-A-2006-103654, the left and right shoulder restraining portions communicate with each other through a communication hole that is as large as the vertical cross section of each shoulder restraining portion taken in the front-rear direction.
In this airbag, as shown in FIGS. 2-4 of the document, the recess extends continuously from its surface that is opposed to the driver or the passenger to its top surface. As shown in FIG. 15 of the document, the top surface of the airbag touches the windshield when it is inflated.